Weaving personal stories with interpretations of scripture, we explore how America’s major faith traditions are grappling with acceptance of the LGBT community.

Click the 'listen' button above to hear the series as an hour-long special. For station managers: our special is also available through PRX and Content Depot.

Gay and Catholic: Two Views

Eve Tushnet is gay, Catholic, and proudly celibate. A recent convert, she decided she couldn't be a good Catholic and a practicing lesbian at the same time. She speaks to Sister Jeannine Gramick, the founder of a gay and lesbian outreach group, about the Church's stance on homosexuality.

When Celestine married Hilary 34 years ago, they were a typical heterosexual couple, bound by love and their vows of Catholic marriage. So seventeen years ago, when her then-husband came to realize her true identity - as a woman - Celestine had to make an unbelievable choice.

Celestine and Hilary Ranney-Howes

Gay and Evangelical: The Traditional View

In part seven of our series, "Gay in the Eyes of God," we’re focusing on evangelicals, a diverse group of Christians that make up about a quarter of the American population. Compared with mainliners, Evangelical Christians emphasize a more personal relationship with Jesus, and believe they have a sacred duty to share the gospel message with others. They also believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God.

But the fact that Evangelicals are committed to the authority of the Bible doesn’t mean they all agree on what different passages mean – and that’s why there’s room for debate on the question of being gay. Rev. Bob Stith shares the conservative view.

Rev. Richard Cizik says he's undergone an "evolution" about the place of gays and lesbians in Evangelical Christianty - and says that American Evangelicals have become too preoccupied with a handful of culture war issues.

African-American Christian denominations run the gamut, from Baptist and Evangelical to Roman Catholic. One thing they've have tended to share, though, is a deeply conservative stand on homosexuality. Black pastors in particular have often been the most vocal opponents to gay clergy and same sex marriage. We talk to black two pastors about how they've handled the issue in their congregations.